City staff have removed all access to pre development applications for certain projects. No plans can be accessed online. As you say, this causes miniscule delay in the process.
On the other hand, nothing has been done to streamline the process before, during, or after the initial submission. It takes weeks to get a meeting. Planners with no authority to approve anything are present. Any question is answered by "we'll get back to you". 2 more weeks and another meeting is arranged. Suggestions are made. 2 more weeks to approve. For God's sake don't ask for any changes now. Then 5 total sets of drawings are requested again showing the miniscule change, that is if your architect is available to make the changes, then the drawings are issued again to all departments to sign off again, another 3 weeks if lucky, and this is just the - if you change anything - part of the process, which most of the time is generated by a request from staff
In the old days, the plan checker at the counter would just say "here, just change this and make a notation and I will initial it. As it concerns engineering, just run over and get someone to initial and come back to me". done.
City staff have removed all access to pre development applications for certain projects. No plans can be accessed online. As you say, this causes miniscule delay in the process.
On the other hand, nothing has been done to streamline the process before, during, or after the initial submission. It takes weeks to get a meeting. Planners with no authority to approve anything are present. Any question is answered by "we'll get back to you". 2 more weeks and another meeting is arranged. Suggestions are made. 2 more weeks to approve. For God's sake don't ask for any changes now. Then 5 total sets of drawings are requested again showing the miniscule change, that is if your architect is available to make the changes, then the drawings are issued again to all departments to sign off again, another 3 weeks if lucky, and this is just the - if you change anything - part of the process, which most of the time is generated by a request from staff
In the old days, the plan checker at the counter would just say "here, just change this and make a notation and I will initial it. As it concerns engineering, just run over and get someone to initial and come back to me". done.